July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, dragging down the MSCI Asia Pacific Index by the most in a week, after China reaffirmed a commitment to lending curbs and India’s Infosys Technologies Ltd. reported worse-than-estimated profit. Poly Real Estate Group Co. slumped 4.3 percent in Shanghai after China said it will “strictly” enforce policies preventing speculative real-estate investment. Infosys, India’s No. 2 software exporter, dropped 3.4 percent in Mumbai. Nissan Motor Co., which gets a third of its sales in North America, lost 1.5 percent, as Chinese stock declines drove the yen higher. “Things are just very uncertain at the moment,” said Matt Riordan, who helps manage about $5 billion at Paradice Investment Management in Sydney. “You’ve got a lot of conflicting issues and people are just sitting on their hands until they’ve got more clarity. Until we get that, the market will remain a bit directionless.” The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3 percent to 115.76 as of 7:26 p.m. in Tokyo, the biggest decline since July 7. About five stocks dropped for every four that rose. The gauge has slumped 10 percent from its high this year on April 15 as Europe’s debt crisis and Chinese steps to curb property prices fueled concerns the global economy will falter. China’s Shanghai Composite Index sank 1.6 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.2 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.1 percent. India’s Sensitive Index gained 0.3 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.7 percent, led by BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group, on speculation their proposed iron-ore venture may be subject to an antitrust review in Japan. Property Curbs Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.6 percent. The gauge gained 0.1 percent yesterday as analyst upgrades of SanDisk and Qualcomm Inc. boosted sentiment before the start of the earnings season. Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, reported better-than-estimated second-quarter profit after U.S. markets closed. China-related property stocks declined after the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development reiterated that it will maintain curbs on speculative purchases and increase market supply. China’s banking regulator also said it has made no changes to policies on home loans, according to a statement yesterday. Poly Real Estate, China’s second-largest developer, dropped 4.3 percent to 11.33 yuan in Shanghai. China Vanke Co., the nation’s biggest developer, fell 2.4 percent to 7.46 yuan. Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. declined 1.3 percent to HK$10.96 in Hong Kong. Focus On Consumption The shares rallied yesterday after the Southern Metropolis Daily reported China may loosen limitations on third-home loans. Some Chinese banks have eased standards for mortgage lending, at least on a case-by-case basis, according to Credit Suisse Group AG in a report yesterday. “The government isn’t likely to relax tightening measures as it wants to transform the country’s growth model to focus on consumption rather than investment,” said Zhang Qi, an analyst at Haitong Securities Co. in Shanghai. Infosys dropped 3.4 percent to 2,796.75 rupees in Mumbai after profit in the three months to June fell 2.6 percent to 14.9 billion rupees ($318.5 million) from a year earlier, less than the 15.6 billion rupee average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., India’s largest software- services exporter, fell 2.2 percent 774.65 rupees, while Wipro Ltd., the third-biggest, lost 1.4 percent to 403.95 rupees. Japanese exporters declined as a slide in Chinese stocks boosted demand for the relative safety of the yen. Japan’s currency appreciated to 88.48, compared with 88.92 against the dollar at the close of stock trading in Tokyo yesterday. A stronger yen reduces the value of overseas revenue when repatriated. Production Halt? Panasonic Corp., the world’s biggest maker of plasma televisions, lost 1 percent to 1,179 yen. Honda Motor Co., which derives 81 percent of its sales abroad, declined 1.8 percent to 2,639 yen. Nissan Motor, Japan’s third-largest carmaker, sank 1.5 percent to 645 yen in Tokyo. The company also said it may halt production at plants in Tennessee and Mexico because of delays in receiving engine parts from Hitachi Ltd. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has slumped 4.2 percent this year, cutting the average price of its shares to 14.1 times estimated earnings. That’s close to the 13.7 times reached on July 2, the lowest level since December 2008. Material producers and finance companies have fallen the most this year among the index’s 10 industry groups on speculation faltering global growth will hurt earnings. Iron-Ore Venture In Sydney, BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, sank 2.6 percent to A$37.62, while Rio Tinto Group, the third biggest, lost 3.2 percent to A$66.55. The companies’ proposed iron-ore venture may be subject to a secondary antitrust review by the Japan Fair Trade Commission, Nikkei English News reported, without citing a source for the information. Santos Ltd., Australia’s third-largest oil and gas producer, declined 2.1 percent to A$13.82 as crude futures fell for a second day in New York. Cnooc Ltd., China’s biggest offshore energy explorer, dropped 1.1 percent to HK$12.94. Zijin Mining Group Co., China’s largest gold producer, tumbled 12 percent to HK$4.90 in Hong Kong after saying a leakage of acidic waste water prompted it to shut the copper smelter at its biggest mine. --With assistance from Lisa Pham in Sydney, Akiko Ikeda and Satoshi Kawano in Tokyo. Editors: Darren Boey, Nick Gentle. To contact the reporter for this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net.

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